


Dreams and Whispers

by Serriya (Keolah)



Series: Interdimensional Bridge [38]
Category: Werewolf: The Apocalypse
Genre: Dimension Travel, Gen, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-07-12
Updated: 2006-07-16
Packaged: 2017-12-09 13:46:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/774894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keolah/pseuds/Serriya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A werewolf of the Children of Gaia tribe returns home after spending long years in other realms.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Sept of Dreams

Keytar took his two charges on the road to the sept, just a little heavy on the speed, naturally. Shenzel and Thorn settled into the back of the vehicle for the ride a little uneasily.

Settling in for the trip and getting the car up to only semi-suicidal speed, Keytar demonstrated to the confused lupus what a CD was... though he'd had to hit an antique shop to find one for the old plastic he'd collected over the years. It just _sounded_ better than the current synth-crystals! Unsurprisingly from his earlier mention, he chose a disc made by a band called Moontide... their singer had a very familiar voice.

Shenzel said, "So where is it we're going exactly, anyway?"

Keytar was perfectly happy to answer questions as they cruised smoothly along a plascrete highway leading out of town and into the westering sunset. Behind them, the megalithic structure of the arcology the city had evolved into reflects the fading light of day and seemed a counterpoint to the mountains they approached.

Shenzel chuckled softly and said, "Sorry, I've been a _little_ out of touch lately."

Thorn said, "Just a little?"

Shenzel said, "Heh."

Shenzel was trying to relax a bit, with some success. All this technology was way beyond her experience. Not like the Elkandu, with a couple exceptions, tended to use it much either.

"Hey, no worries," Keytar replied easily, fingers tapping along to the beat of the low-volume music. "People fall behind all the time, the danger of a high-tech society is that you're going to end up having a class of near-illiterates as tech goes faster and faster. It's tough to keep up and current with it if you don't plug in."

"'Plug in'?" Shenzel said. "Not that I was precisely up to date with anything _before_ I took an unexpected extended vacation..."

Keytar grinned and tilted his head a little to show a small silver disc just behind his ear that he tapped with a finger. "Yeah, plug in to the Weaver's webway, it's the only way to keep current with all the changes going down in the world of tech. Most people deadhead their way through, snagging news and other drek, but some of us have a pipeline to the Machine to keep on the edge."

Shenzel blinked for a moment. "I have... no idea what you're talking about, sorry."

"Not a Glass Walker, huh?" Keytar said, and smiled a bit. "Sorry, guess I assumed you were considering the company you were keeping, mea culpa. Average man on the street is gonna call the webway the 'internet', but that's a pale shadow of the real thing that runs along the threads of the Weaver's web. Those of us with the right links can dive into it like swimming in the ocean."

"No," Shenzel said. "Children of Gaia. And lupus, as well." She smirked faintly. "I've never even so much as heard of this 'internet' either. Not that that's surprising..."

Keytar winced. "Lupus? Oh geez, I'm sorry, that had to sound like total gibberish to you. Even the best adjusted ones that go through the full course at the sept never seem to quite..." He shook his head. "I dunno, they just seem to look at the world differently, and a lot of the things we do as Glass Walkers just make no sense to them, or they have zed interest in. So, uh..." he trailed off, a bit embarrassed.

Shenzel chuckled softly. "Don't worry about it. I'll as much chalk it up to how long I've been out of touch as well. You wouldn't believe."  
"Well maybe I can catch you up on some current events, then," Keytar rallied gamely. "Things have been relatively quiet recently, other than the occasional mage going all wrath of Gaia and getting the smackdown or some nutball breed deciding to open up a new War of Rage. But hey, ask away."

"Um... What year is it, anyway?" Shenzel asked.

The mirror shades turned toward her and away from the road at the question, but it was obvious Keytar didn't need to actually look at the road since they go around a curve without a hitch. "Uh, 2133," he replied. "Been gone a while, huh?"

"It was 1847," Shenzel replied. "Just a bit." She chuckled softly. "And I'm still not sure precisely how I ended up... wherever it was I ended up..."

"1847..." Keytar whistled and turned to look back at the road. "Yeah, I'd say you're a little out of the loop then. You wouldn't even know about the Industrial Revolution, much less the Unification Wars. Wow, I wouldn't even know where to begin."

"And I must say, Daresa was never exactly the epitome of 'high tech', either. Though I suppose they used magic to accomplish the same things."

"See a bit more of the magic side since the Awakening, back in '06," Keytar said. "But it's a hell of a lot more difficult and impractical than doing things by the Machine's path, from all I've heard. 'Course I suppose our gifts qualify under that heading, too, so..."

"The Elkandu pretty much got magic down to a science really," Shenzel said. "I didn't even understand half of the things they did."

Keytar shrugged. "Any sufficiently advanced technology..."

He took a secondary road off of the highway, the narrower path threading through the steadily thickening forest that embraced the mountains. A few miles onward they come to a pair of pylons on either side of the road that they sailed past, light flickered and solidified between the pylons as soon as they were safely away, clearly a deterrent of uninvited guests.

Shenzel peered around the area, quirking an eyebrow. "Are we almost here?"

"Just ahead," Keytar nodded, then grinned as he began shedding speed to obey the _very_ clearly posted sign at roadside. "Keep an eye on the woods, you'll probably spot some kin or other lupus poking their noses out to see who's driving by. They can hear the whine of these cars miles away."

Shenzel watched as they went by. Thorn just relaxed.

They did indeed see the occasional wolf as the road twisted and turned up the mountainside, the animals showing absolutely no fear of the car or the road, knowing what they were and that nothing in their territory was any threat to them. A few minutes more and they arrived in sight of the main lodge, a sprawling two-story building with a gravel lot that the road terminated into.

Keytar made a face as grit leapt up under the ground effect to scrape at the undercarriage and paint, but that was the price of the vehicle... and there was no one in heaven or hell that would get the sept's leader to change the grounds any more than absolutely necessary.

"So where are we anyway?" Shenzel asked again, peering about as they arrived.

"Sept of Dreams," Keytar replied. "Smack in the middle of what used to be Arcadia National Park, now annexed as an independent entity through the Unification Accord."

He slipped the car to a stop at one side of the gravel lot among a number of older, older wheeled vehicles. Power faded with a whine and he climbed out to circle around and open the door for them.

"Main lodge is general use," Keytar said.

Shenzel and Thorn noticed eyes peering out at them from around a corner of the building, much as might be expected of wolves, and the highest of them was about six feet off the ground. After seeing who showed up, the owners ambled out of the shadows and trotted in their direction with an air of happy anticipation... young metis.

"So what's here, anyway?" Shenzel asked, then looked over to who was approaching thoughtfully.

"Well hey there!" Keytar called out in greeting as the crunch of gravel alerted him to the new arrivals and he went around the front of the car to meet them.

The oldest of them couldn't be more than about six years old, a few years away yet from its first change. All three of them seemed to know him, judging from the cheerful exclamations in the Garou tongue and the fact that they just about pounced on him.

The reason was soon apparent as, laughing, he fished into a pocket and drew out a handful of candy that he passed to them with a mock stern admonishment.

"Save that for _after_ dinner, and _share_ it!" he said.

They took it in good form and thanked him in appropriately affectionate fashion.

"Hey now, I'm on the clock."

He chuckled and stepped back from them, and the three sets of eyes look brightly toward the new people.

"Ladies, may I introduce Huey, Duey, and Louie?" He smirked. "Don't look at me, I'll just say we'll never let a Ragabash do the naming again."

Shenzel didn't get it, naturally, and just greeted them cordially. Thorn hung behind them, feeling a bit slightly out of place.

Keytar ruffled the ears of the largest of the three, then said, "Go on inside, dinner soon, and you don't want to be last in line tonight of all nights, right?"

The metis cubs perked visibly at the reminder, their muzzles twitching at the faint scent of rich sauces they could easily pick from the air, and they took off after a brief, but polite "Bye!" in the only language they could speak so far. Shaking his head, Keytar watched them go with a grin, then turned back to his guests.

"Sorry about that, you know how metis cubs can be, though...." The humor faded as he looked at Shenzel. "Then again, maybe you don't, they didn't tend to get treated very well, even the Glass Walkers and CoGs treated them like third class until the Boss put an end to that shit."

"So what's the occasion, anyway?" Shenzel said.

Thorn muttered, "What's a metis? Sorry."

Keytar went for Thorn's question first, wondering where _she'd_ been, but shrugged mentally. "Metis are what happens when a shapeshifter mates with another of its own kind. They're born in Crinos form and can't shift until they're, ohhhh, eight or so, maybe. A long time ago, they used to be born with a deformity, too, but..." he grinned and shrugged, "Things change when things get rolling around here.

"And as for tonight," he waved them to follow him, "Ribs on the menu. Super secret, slit your throat before revealing it recipe, been handed down in one family for the past maybe hundred years or more. Yeah, they're that damned good. We'll have a full house tonight, believe it, and it makes a great excuse to get together."

Garou were highly social beings to begin with, and any excuse to cater to that...

Shenzel chuckled softly and said, "Sounds good to me."

Thorn went quiet and returned to examining the vicinity thoughtfully.

The door opened onto a scene of complete Chaos, or so it seemed at first, with people of all descriptions packed into every corner of the lodge's main gathering room. That wasn't all, though, as there were quite a few metis cubs playing in different areas as they waited for dinner, and lupus in their natural forms either playing indulgently with them or lounging in various degrees of patience while the smells of food drifted.

A couple people nearby greeted Keytar familiarly and got equally cheerful replied as he threaded through and made sure to keep his charges in tow.

"Hey guys," he said, coming up to a corner table packed with others who were obviously Glass Walkers from their outrageous appearances.

He didn't stop there, instead leading a little further on to a table that was conspicuously empty. 

"Have a seat," he said with an easy grin. "The Boss likes to meet new arrivals, so you get a bit of space in the madhouse."

Shenzel and Thorn took a seat as bidden and wait patiently, while looking over the vicinity some more. They seemed a bit more at ease at any rate, now that they were out of that speeding contraption.

Keytar didn't show any signs of making himself comfortable, but propped himself up against the wall nearby to keep them company for now, a foot tapping unconsciously as he watched the crowd.

"Doesn't have quite the energy of a throwdown," he remarked idly, pitching his voice just loud enough to carry among the general babble. "But ya gotta love it anyway. I can't imagine what it was like in the old days."

Shenzel just smiled and nodded politely, and watched the people about the room.

A little more time passed, then Keytar pushed away from the wall, "Looks like your ride's here," he said, nodding in the direction of a man walking down the stairs leading to the upper floor.

The man could be anywhere between thirty and forty, though the traces of silver at his temples would suggest toward the latter and provided a stark contract with the otherwise deep black hair. He moves with a fluid grace that Shenzel had probably seen before, being the result of a gift that bestowed the agility and easy motions of a feline. Dressed in a neutral gray business suit of impeccable tailoring, he would seem out of place in this gathering for the most part... except for the quiet deep feeling of energy that flowed from him.

Features that seemed perhaps a bit too grim and set broke suddenly into a smile that was obviously natural and often-worn as one of the metis cubs made a beeline for and hopped up to place its hands on his shoulders. He greeted the cub warmly, then gently shooed it off to return to its play and worked his way through the gathering to the table reserved for his use. 

"Keytar," he said with quiet dignity. "Go on, I know better than to think you wish to remain tied while there are games to be played."

Phase grinned, nodded to Shenzel and Thorn, then headed off into the crowd, taking off his own suit jacket as he went in preparation for the night's revelries.

The newcomer eyed Shenzel and Thorn with dark, quiet eyes, then offered a polite half bow. "Lucian William Grant the Third, at your service. I pray you'll not complain of joining me for at least the beginning of the night." He removed his coat and laid it across the back of a chair, then settled casually into it.

"Shenzel Tirtas is the only name I've gone by in some time," she said. "And this is Thorn doesn't-have-a-last-name. And no, we would not mind."

Lucian displayed a hint of a smile at the introduction, but left its source silent as a woman approached with a tray and asked if there was anything they needed. "Coffee, please," he replied, then looked to his guests with an encouraging expression.

"Nothing right now, thank you," Shenzel said.

Thorn leaned back casually and thought about locating a fireplace to curl up in front of. Damned cats always wanting to sleep all the time.

The woman vanished with a smile, leaving the three be for the moment. Lucian considered the two women thoughtfully, then spoke again, "You'll pardon my curiosity, yet I have to admit to it following the request of someone who all save her father had believed dead after sixty-three years without word. Both of you are shapeshifters, yet I recognize neither, and have never heard of a fae with the ability." He eased back in his seat, folding one leg over the other. "Would you care to illuminate these mysteries?" He smiled faintly. "This is no inquest, merely an informal meeting, and I always endeavor to find as much as I may from those who come within my domain."

Shenzel nodded and said, "Certainly. In the year 1847, I was caught up in some... strange... thing... and when I came to my senses, I was somewhere ... else. It was a strange place, with purple sky, a pale blue sun, it was called Torn Elkandu. The residents there, the Elkandu, called it the 'Center of the Universe', the connection between all worlds, the Nexus, and such."

The woman returned during the explanation and left a carafe along with a container of sugar and cream, then vanished back into the crowd. Lucian listened attentively as he poured a cup of coffee for himself and added liberal amounts of both before taking an appreciative sip.

"Mmm," he said. "You might be surprised to learn that comes as no great surprise to me, though I've not had the opportunity to venture beyond this realm. Far too much work to be done," he dismissed it with a small wave. "But no matter, that certainly explains the oddities I perceived and answers many questions merely through logical deduction. A great many things have changed since your departure, are you intending to remain and learn of them, or continuing on another path?"

"I've spent the last many years on a world called Daresa. Thorn here was born there," Shenzel said. "But I suppose that I'm here I may as well. Fantasia told me a bit of what had been going on in the meantime."

"Mm, I'd be careful of taking anything she said without a grain of salt," Lucian replied, though not unkindly. "There's a great talent for moving the hearts and souls of people at her grasp, but she doesn't always think things through as clearly as might be wished. A peril of the strangely-mixed heritage which is her birthright, I suppose. Regardless, any who come here in peace and obey Gaia's tenets are more than welcome. There are changes to those principles since your own time, Madame Tirtas, but I doubt that you'll find them onerous."

Shenzel gave a nod and a faint smirk, and said, "Yes, she is an interesting one, certainly. Never a dull moment." She chuckled softly. "What sort of changes?"

Lucian took another sip of his coffee and placed it neatly back before replying. "The Litany as you knew it, for the most part, is no more. There has been a _great_ deal of change, and the rules which govern us now are less the ways of man than the very way that Gaia would wish us to follow. Concepts such as obedience to elders are still maintained, so that we slip not into anarchy, but...

"The world is different," he continued, somewhat distantly. "We Garou are slowly being hammered into the very warrior servants which Gaia intended, without the endless internecine warfare that weakened us with claw and fang. Of course," his lips quirked, "Not all have seen fit to adjust to the situation, but they were left with little choice. So it was decreed by Gaia herself, and so have I done..."

He sighed, looking suddenly tired as he rubs at his eyes, then forced the bone-deep weariness aside and went on with a tone of thinly veiled silver.

"Garou shall _not_ war with Garou. The young are to be cherished, no matter their origin. Any call of succor _shall_ be answered...." He shook his head. "The full listing is sufficient to burden the soul, knowing that we Garou are, at heart, still men with all the bile that entails.

"Essentially it translates to obedience of Gaia in _all_ things, large and small, and accepting personal responsibility for the acts one commits. There are additional and far more codified additions which apply to interactions with the other breeds and the Kindred, but those too may be distilled to a basic, if sometimes uneasy, cooperation. None wish Gaia's Fury to descend on them, not when they have seen it," he finished grimly.

Shenzel nodded politely as she listened quietly to his words. "It sounds like I've missed quite a lot indeed," she said when he finished.

People started stirring as food began to circulate, the delicious smells of cooked ribs becoming thick enough to taste in the air. Ones smothered in barbecue sauce were the definite favorites, though some small number of people went for plain ones and preferred to dip them in their own choice of sauces. Platters of thick, toasted bread circulated as well, along with golden ears of steamed corn.

Crowd noise dimmed for a while as people began to eat, though wolf and metis cubs generated noise of their own as they cracked and chewed at the bones and completely ignored the accompanying bread and vegetable (ick!). The woman who'd served the coffee brought several platters over to the table and set them down, succulent meats vying for space with the other dishes. She left with a saucy wink and went back to the kitchen.

Lucian chuckled quietly and motioned to the food, "Please, eat, we can continue talking afterward, if you wish."

Shenzel didn't need to be told twice, and went to help herself to the delicious-looking food. Thorn went likewise, feeling oddly at ease for being a cat amongst dogs.

A couple of metis cubs started a brief brawl off to one side over their food, but it was quickly broken up and resolved with a heap of fresh food given to each of them. Shenzel likely found the approach quite odd, as the metis had always been shunned and given scraps at best, while some tribes had been even worse about them. Yet here... they looked to be treated like nothing more or less than the children that they truly were.

Lucian ate heartily, packing away far more than even his heavy frame would suggest possible, and sighed contentedly as he finished at last. His dark eyes turned to watching the people around them, more energetic conversations re-emerging after the first pangs of hunger were sated, and an unguarded fondness touched his expression.

Strains of music sounded after a little while, Keytar and some others setting up with some instruments off to one side to move on to the next stage of the night's festivities. At a guess, Shenzel would place their music roughly as Celtic-styled... but what in the world were the strange undertones that flow almost beneath hearing from even stranger instruments?

As that began, Lucian turned back to his guests, expression closing again to polished and practiced cordiality. "This will doubtless run long into the night," he said, "If either wish to retire at any time, merely say it and quarters shall be provided for your use."

Thorn licked her lips and said, "They wouldn't happen to have any nice fireplaces to curl up in front of by chance would they?" Shenzel snickered softly.

"It could be arranged," Lucian replied with a deep chuckle. "There are other felines who reside here, and we do what can be to see that all are made comfortable and happy." He pointed to a tightly packed group to one side of the large room. "A pride of Simba have chosen to remain here with the blessing of Lion, and I know at least one of them was born feline."

The identification was somewhat redundant after a moment as the music rose and one of the females in the group shifted liquidly to the even more sleek sokto form, a hint of the feline melding with the human, and glided over to snare the arm of a man to drag him off to dance. He looked surprised, but didn't offer more than a token resistance.

Lucian chuckled again. "The Urquart clan are well-known here."

Thorn gave a soft chuckle and nodded. "That'd be nice."

Shenzel enjoyed the meat, but didn't shun the bread or vegetables either. There were lots of things that weren't meat that are great after all. Like ice cream. But meat was good too, certainly.

Lucian turned a pensive look on the crowd, absorbing the scene through his various senses, then returned his attention politely to his guests. "You are welcome to the hospitality of the sept, and it will be recognized as given by their Alpha. I will leave you to enjoy the evening." He rose and took the jacket from the back of the chair and shrugged into it. "You need only ask and a message may reach me as needed or desired. I know there will be a wish for further enlightenment upon what has passed, and that may be arranged easily on the morrow."

They thanked him politely and continued eating, before Thorn went off to sleep first. Shenzel wasn't quite tired yet, however. It felt weird to be on a planet with a sun again after so long on Daresa, even after the subsequent trip to Serriya, and it just being dark out didn't make her tired. The sun? The moon? How long had it been, she didn't realize how much she had missed them. She'd missed _home_.

Lucian took his leave and left the lodge to walk on the bawn for a while, greeting the stars as they began to emerge in the darkening sky. He recognized part of his restlessness and distance as the moon rose... nearing full, the sign of his auspice and the one which led to rage among the Garou in general. That explained the cubs and their irritability, he mused and walked on in quiet thought.

Shenzel went and saw about mingling a bit and talking with the others here. Too long already she'd been alone that even Fantasia's wild adventures she kept dragging her into were welcome.

The members of the sept, regardless of the breed of shifter that they were, were more than willing to accept a new face in their midst and Shenzel was made to feel as welcome as she could wish for. This informal gathering had more energy and vitality to it than she remembered most _moots_ having in the past, possibly due to the sheer number of people present, but there was something more to it as well...

What that extra something was, she wasn't immediately sure, but some of it might be a general wellbeing they all shared. Even with the full moon nearing there were few of the signs that would otherwise be prevalent, and the gathering becomes quite the party. Keytar and crew played to entertain, accepting requests and now and again a member faded into the crowd for a while themselves.

Shenzel, of course, was more comfortable getting a little furry about the matter and went to sniff people's butts. Figuratively. Thorn just went for a little catnap.

Shenzel wasn't the only one doing so, as she found lupus from several different tribes enjoying the event in different ways... though most of them entailed gnawing on rib bones and watching that the silly homids didn't step on their tails.

She got a bit of a start when she encountered one with a shock of red fur that decorated one half of his face and neck down to his shoulder. A Red Talon! Talons were notorious for hating anything people or people-related, but he seemed to be no more inclined to go about throating the homids than anyone else here... _very_ odd.

Curious, she thought. Perhaps things really had changed a lot since she had been gone. Out of place, out of time... But perhaps there was time enough to make up for time lost -- and time gained. 'Touched by Time Magic', Shazmar had said. If that held true here as well, she thought, she could be looking forward to the next few hundred years here.

The homids seemed to enjoy the party more, though they certainly didn't ignore their fuzzy kin in their revelries and drew them in when any of them showed an inclination. Metis cubs were the most likely to indulge, being big fuzzy kids at heart, but at least one lupus got into the spirit of it and capered about in playful mockery of the clumsy two-legs. His coloration would seem to mark him as a Stargazer, of all things.

Shenzel relaxed and enjoyed herself, thinking that it may take a while to get used to this strange new world she had found herself in. There was that old saying she had heard... you _can_ go home again, so long as you keep in mind that home is a place you have never been. Eventually, she wandered off to sleep as well.


	2. Whispers in the Night

Shenzel had drifted off to the sounds of lively, spirited song and the reassuring murmur of a healthy, vibrant pack. There was a part of any shapeshifter, but Garou in particular, that longed for the company of others and found the greatest peace and feeling of all being right in the world when surrounded by the unqualified acceptance of kin. A remnant of their animal nature, perhaps, or just a oneness in Gaia.

Slowly the festive air dimmed as people drifted off in ones and twos and threes, wandering off to their rest or more purposeful liaisons beneath the beckoning light of the nearly full moon. Luna's shifting face didn't just inspire rage among the Garou, it spurred all of their passions to greater heights, and the fullness of it was when the majority of metis were conceived.

At least here, those same metis would be welcomed with open arms as a part of the future that they indeed were rather than shunned and cast aside with the callous chill that she remembered from when last she'd been home. Evidence of it could be found in the pile of furry bodies taking up a large corner of the meeting hall, cubs curled up in sleep alongside their own kind as well as lupus and even a couple of homids.

The Sept of Dreams had done many things over the passing years, but it was perhaps that which had proven the spark that drew Gaia's favor the most firmly... at long last some unspoken test had been passed, and with it she had lifted the curse of the metis that they might be born without the deformity which had echoed the scorn that was heaped upon them.

Her sleeping mind didn't think in these terms, or even realize the true depth that the changes had cut to, instead drifting hazily from one misty dream and vision to another. A whisper seemed to follow from shadow to shadow, becoming more distinct and beckoning from moment to moment, and she realized with a start that something or someone was calling her. Nothing had changed as she looked around, though, most puzzling...

The urge to leave the warmth of the communal hall and go out into the night was strong, and she sensed nothing to the outer prodding that would indicate a malevolent presence... such a thing would be hard-pressed indeed to manifest on the bawn of a powerful caern anyway since the totem spirit wards and would warn if something were amiss.

Shenzel perked up her ears at the feeling curiously, rising to her paws and stretching a bit, and wondering what it might be. She went out to seek it out and discover what seemed to be calling her, and why.

None stirred as she left, deep within their own dreams and sated by the evening's food and festivities. Shenzel emerged into the moon-dappled shadows of the summer night and tasted the myriad scents brought on a cool breeze, a thousand little sounds reaching her sensitive ears from the rustling of grasses and left to the small creatures that make the night their home.

An anole, a green lizard about six inches long, separated itself from the lodge's wall and scampered off further into the night practically daring her instincts to chase after it further into the bawn.

Shenzel looked off after it for a moment but remained in place, glancing up to the sky. This wasn't Daresa... The stars were not so bright or colorful, but neither did Daresa have a moon... It felt a little strange being back here after spending so long on Daresa. Familiar, and yet not...

Luna's face, nearing its brightest cycle, hung just above the shadowed outlines of the trees and would soon dip beneath them to make way for Helios's rise to ascendance with the glories of morning. For now she yet held supremacy among the dimmer lights of the stars and shines with a cool benevolence on the world beneath.

A shadow stood out starkly against that disc for a brief moment, wings outstretched and then folding as the lithe form dropped to settle lightly to the ground. It was a new sight to Shenzel, the Camazotz were a fairly recent reintroduction to the world and served the purpose of messengers among the Garou and other shapeshifters. The werebat turned and glided outward, the same general direction the lizard had taken.

Gentle amusement rippled at the edges of Shenzel's awareness, but its source and intent weren't immediately clear. Shenzel cocked her head and her ears twitched a bit. That was interesting, she thought. She stood again and loped off in that general direction thoughtfully.

That direction followed a well-worn path through the trees, thousands of feet having traveled it since the founding of the sept and even further back when the Croatan and others had dwelt on the mountain. It opened out into a wide glade, a spring pool glimmering in the moonlight at its center and reflecting the outline of the marble obelisk standing proudly on its bank.

Glyphs glowed with a pale blue luminescence on the sides of the monument, forming the framework of the mystical heart of the caern. A Garou was crouched on the edge of the spring in the warform, elegance personified in the lean grace of its silver-furred form and accents of gold at his wrists and atop the finely delineated head. He was gazing thoughtfully up toward the moon, but turned as the werebat approached.

They began speaking in low tones, beginning with obvious pleasantries and then moving to the subject of the bat's message and purpose here. Though clearly aware of their surroundings, neither seemed to take notice of Shenzel as she stepped into the glade, but a small turtle that splashed out from the pool looked directly at her...

Shenzel looked back thoughtfully as she padded closer quietly. There was much, she felt, that she would need to reacquaint herself with here. Aside from the obvious differences, Daresa just felt different.

Neither wolf nor bat took any notice or even seemed to see Shenzel as she approached, though she was definitely within their line of sight, and continued their business without pause. The wolf, most likely the sept leader she concluded, looked grim as the bat reported sightings of things that hadn't been seen in decades, a dark blot on Gaia's face of a gathering of some scattered remnants of the Black Spiral Dancers.

The turtle meanwhile paid no heed to the larger figures nearby, instead shuffling along the bank of the spring and watching Shenzel with unwavering attention. It reached a point near the obelisk, then slipped into the water and moved out a bit with its head still held above to continue its vigil.

Shenzel sat down on her rump near the water and watched back casually, quietly taking in the sights, sounds, smells of her surroundings.

The night was full of things to tickle the senses, though the stronger presence of the wolf and bat nearby overpowered some of the subtler pieces of the sensory puzzle. Sorting through it drew her attention raptly, and it was with a start that she recognized the moonlight of the reflective pool was growing larger in her eyes and drawing her in. The Gauntlet was already thin here, and she found herself in the Umbra without warning.

Not that any warning was really _required_ , not with the company she found herself keeping on the other side. The spirit avatar of Falcon perched in a tree nearby and turned a piercing gaze on her before shifting his attention onward, and a gathering of lions lazed on the far side of the spring and watched her with languid curiosity.

Shenzel looked back quietly, fairly undeterred. There were similarities, no doubt, but it was the differences that made themselves abundantly clear to her.

The Umbra was a friend of old to the Garou, being half of their very souls, and Shenzel knew that there was nothing within the boundaries of the bawn that was any danger to her. Even the small pride of lions were spirits, of a family that was familiar and friendly to the sept for several services which had been rendered to it in past days.

Lion was the totem of the White Howlers, once in disgrace after they followed the shattered pathways of a cave that led them into the labyrinthine ways of the Black Spiral and emerging as the loathsome and wicked Dancers. That time was barely remembered now, as Lion's shame was forfeit with the return and rebirth of his tribe and the destruction of the degenerate pretenders... or most of them, after recent hints.

The feline yawned lazily and looked pointedly toward a path amongst the trees, more clearly marked as the landscape is less crowded here. In fact she could see the city lying far below from the vantage point of the mountain, and further within the bounds of the preserve was a shimmering city that reminded her in some ways of the spires of Daresa's own jeweled crown.

Shenzel glanced off quietly, pensively, thoughtfully, but didn't seem in any particular hurry to get off her butt at the moment and do anything.

There seemed no great urgency in the night, not even in majestic Lion as his eyes narrowed drowsily and he rested his head on his paws. The night was more alive here than on the mundane plane, as it had always been, and might bring to mind the question the philosophers had always pondered as to which was the reflection of which. Both sides were argued fiercely at times, but it was moments such as this which made one wonder anew.

Bright scents greeted Shenzel's nose, from feline and fowl nearby to more distant odors like the heavier weight of... bear, perhaps, and the more ephemeral spirits that had no mortal reflection any longer. She caught a glimpse of both the turtle and anole here, confirming their spectral nature and hinting at some other intent.

Shenzel sat, listened, watched, and wondered, waited quietly perhaps. Nothing leapt out to demand her attention, the world apparently content to allow her to experience the various wonders which Gaia had provided if one was willing to accept them. That thought, in fact, comes nearly verbatim to Shenzel's wandering mind along with a gentle sense of approval that suffused her with a quiet warmth brought on a breeze that swirls through the glade. Shenzel was quite willing to accept them, and relaxed calmly, letting out a soft sigh and laying down.

Another scent darted and caught the edge of Shenzel's attention, the distinctive scent of wolf/not-wolf that marked a Garou... there was something odd in it, though, that she couldn't quite pin down. It was born on the breeze, but odd in that the direction hadn't changed but the scent just now reached her when the source would seem to be somewhere nearby.

Shenzel just sat there quietly and paid attention, flicking her ears about to see if she could hear one approaching then, but otherwise not doing much. No one appeared, though the scent didn't go away or become any less confusing for its oddness. A glance upward at a faint rustling revealed a gathering of bats that passed across the moon and then continued onward in search of prey... spirits acted much as their fleshly counterparts, and even acted willingly as food as necessary for the shapeshifters so long as they weren't taken for granted. Gaia had created a balance, a cycle that continued ever onward, with each part dependent on another in many different ways.

Shenzel didn't seem very inclined to do much more than sit there and watch and listened for the moment. Time passed slowly without any great changes, only the small nuances of life that might be expected moving along in their normal cycle. The glade saw its fair share of traffic from various types of spirits, though the rodent kinds tended to avoid it and the watchful gaze of Falcon. As the totem spirit it was well within his right and inclination to do a bit of late-night snacking now and again.

Eventually, having been in no particular great hurry about it, Shenzel stood up and stretched a bit again. She sniffed at the air thoughtfully and loped around quietly to see what she might find.

Just as time passed strangely in the fantasy realm, the rest of the Umbra occasionally stepped outside conventional boundaries. Luna still rested in the sky near where she had when Shenzel had first crossed into the Umbra and the various spirits had continued without concern about their varied and mysterious purposes. Only two things struck her as odd, the Garou scent and that of a bear, both coming from the same direction.

She followed her nose pensively, wondering vaguely why that might be so. Interesting, she thought. Still, she didn't move in any great rush, just padding along quietly.

Shenzel could hear a low rumbling conversation as she drew nearer the source of the scents, the two distinct voices amiably talking in the native tongue of Bear. Another scent, the heady tang of coppery blood rises to her senses, and as she poked her muzzle around a tree she saw a bear sitting near a very large, black wolf and sharing a freshly killed deer.

Shenzel paused nearby and looked on thoughtfully, and just a little hungrily, in spite of the feast she had eaten earlier. But she held her ground and did not go closer just yet.

Bear rumbled laughter and reached down to pat the wolf on one heavy shoulder, drawing attention to the odd white marking there and on the other side, then lumbered to its feet with the apparent intention of leaving. The wolf muttered a polite goodbye and word of thanks, then returned idly to his meal after a brief, patient glance in Shenzel's direction. Shenzel looked back quietly, and slowly moved to approach further.

Bear ambled off after a final look back, leaving the mostly black wolf laying in the center of the glen with the half-devoured carcass. The wolf made no hostile movements as Shenzel emerged, instead casually tearing a hunk from a haunch and gulping it down. Shenzel plopped her ass down again quietly, just looking on thoughtfully.

"Eat, if you're hungry," the wolf rumbled deeply in the Garou tongue. "There's more than enough left for both. Anything left will need to be paid proper respect and gifted to others so the spirit isn't angered."

Shenzel murmurs acquiescently and went to eat as well.

"I'm Rudolf," he added by way of introduction, then returned to eating with quiet ferocity. There was definitely something odd about him, but it was nothing that leapt immediately to mind beyond the oddity of scent.

"Shenzel", she replied quietly, trying quietly to pinpoint what that might be as she ate.

Rudolf let some time pass in sharing the meal, and packed away a great deal of it on his own. Wolves that large were rare indeed, but that didn't touch on the strangeness she sensed, and nothing else seemed to leap out besides a generally calm and peaceful aura surrounding him. Shenzel didn't eat much, comparatively, although fairly unsurprisingly.

Even with her relatively lazy dining there was very little left of the deer by the time they were done. Rudolf stretched broadly, then returned to his breed-form of Crinos in a flicker of motion, then continued a more leisurely returned to homid form. He probably stood well over seven feet tall as a man and was built along the same heavy lines as the wolf had been, but he was really not intimidating in the least.

That didn't come from any general sense of security in the setting but more from the easy way he settled cross-legged and exuded a quiet calm as he looked at Shenzel. "Are you enjoying your return so far?" he asked quietly.

"I believe so," she replied. "It is... different than I am used to, and different than how I remember it, but there is much that I have seen so far that I could not complain about."

Rudolf nodded. "There's been a lot of changes since Gaia last saw you. Matters grew far more bleak for years after, and only relatively recently has Her purpose and way begun to be realized as it was intended. Not without a great deal of trouble, naturally, but She has at least a few staunch Champions, whether some recognize the title or not."

"I am glad to hear that things have improved," she said. "And to have seen some signs of such myself."

"Do you still carry it with you, I wonder?" Rudolf mused, looking down at Shenzel with a faint smile. "Long was it in my possession, then passed to the keeping of a friend, then again to a friend with a purpose, and from there into your hands... Such is the rightful way of things."

Shenzel realized what he meant and gave a bit a nod. "Yes... that which was given me on Serriya?"

Rudolf nodded once in quiet satisfaction. "Well that you do so, to forge it as part of yourself as any honor weapon is intended to be. That one's history is longer than others and will serve you well, whether in brightest day or darkest night when all else has failed. Be mindful of the spirits which inhabit it, again unique in ability as well as number to a single klaive, even of grand stature."

Shenzel nodded quietly, looking off at nothing in particular. "Aye, as you say... and too long that I have been from home, I believe, if I can truly call it thus any longer."

"Home is a construct of the heart and soul, nothing more," Rudolf replied quietly. "So long as you listen and listen well to the stirrings within you'll always know just where to find it. Wander eternally and you can still find home around every corner, whispered on each breeze or rustling of the leaves, carried in the taste of a mountain stream or the blood of rightful prey. All is of Gaia."

"Mmm, yes, I see what you mean," Shenzel said, giving something of a shrug. "It was not wandering I sought, though, really. Daresa was a young world, fresh and vibrant, but as it slowly grew up I found that I had somewhat outlived my stay there..."

"Perhaps in the end it was the voice of home which was brought with the yip of a fox," Rudolf said. "Even Gaia has a sense of humor, and it would seem irony indeed to return one of Her children to her embrace by the fluttering wings of the gadfly. Therein lies the wisdom of listening to all, from the simplest babblings of the butterfly to the grand workings of the Celestials themselves."

"I had suspected some inscrutable purpose when I learned that Shazmar had sent her to me," Shenzel replied. "To what end, I do not know."

"Does one question the wind, or the rain?" Rudolf asked serenely.

"Some do, but then in my experience, mensch will complain about anything." She paused for a moment thoughtfully. "No, they're not called mensch here... Humans?"

"Humans indeed, whether kin or those blinded to Gaia by birth," Rudolf nodded. "Yet they show the greatest wisdom of all in that they _do_ question everything. Gaia demands obedience, not blind faith, and makes Her will and wisdom known in all the things of this world if you but listen to them. The simplest anole or turtle may possess the fragment needed to unravel the mystery each one's life presents."

Shenzel looked off quietly at nothing in particular. "Well enough for that," she murmured. "And to that I must wonder at the turnings of centuries, everything changes, seasons turn, and yet..."

"The passage of time is inevitable," Rudolfs replied. "Ask the Rokea of its nature sometime if you're so inclined. There are those among them who remember the rise of man from Gaia's cradle of life. It is merely the way of things, that we may continue to change and grow on the paths which She has opened to us. And yet... there is more that troubles you?"

"They told me, back on Daresa, that I had been touched by Time Magic, and indeed I saw the turning of millennia in my own eyes while yet I appeared to grow no older. A paradox of sorts, in that I appeared to be an old wolf, and yet a young human... But even as everything changed around me, I did not."

"There are places and events which stand outside the passage of time," Rudolf said. "Even as we ourselves do this very moment. They are opportunities to experience a greater span than might otherwise be allotted in Gaia's turning, and all eventually return to Her embrace to seek the next step of what can and must be. Rarely have there been exceptions..." He looked back toward the central glen. "They are not happy ones."

Shenzel gave a nod, seeming to relax somewhat. "Well that it is so. The Elkandu are strange ones, and interesting in some ways, but their universe is not my own."

"Better for the heart and soul," Rudolf gently said. "For there is pain in memory, a bitter longing which only grows greater with unending years as one after another you have known is taken from you. Best to access the shorter span allotted and rejoice in being reborn once more, the torments of the past clouded in past lives. Would you prefer it be otherwise?"

"Not at all," she replied happily.

"The quick and purposeful wisdom of the lupus." Rudolf smiled a little. "It was always an amazing thing to me, to imagine seeing the world through an entirely separate set of senses, seemingly so close and yet so blindingly different! Oh how often do those who will listen come from the ranks of your soul-kin, Shenzel."

Shenzel gave a soft chuckle. "I am glad to return and seek what I may, and to do what is needed of me."

"You are welcome indeed," Rudolf replied in quiet earnest. "and may find more allies remember you than you might believe, and new friends to stand beside you in Gaia's service." He shifted slowly back to wolf form and stretched again, then looked back at her. "Remember to always listen, it is the duty of a Theurge surely, but there's a lot more urgency to it than just that. Listen and the world will be known and open to you, and you will know Her will."

"I shall certainly be sure to do so," she replied. "Thank you for your words. They have given me some measure of ease in my decision to return now."

"I am glad of it," Rudolf replied sincerely.

He suddenly fragmented beneath a sudden breeze, his form blowing away as a swirl of leaves that spiraled through the Umbral forest and rode the wind into the sky. The intricate dance of motion drew Shenzel's eyes to it and held them as it became the whole of her existence...

She woke with a start, something seeming off, and a look around showing that she was at the lodge. Sometime in the night a metis cub had decided that she looked lonely and had to be cold and was now curled up next to her, sleeping quietly.

"Mmmh," she mmmhed, and glanced down at the cub with a faint smile. She drew it close and didn't move so as not to disturb it, letting her eyes slide shut contentedly again for a moment.


End file.
